MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
When a man wished to marry he spoke first to the woman and then to her family. Permission of the sachem was also necessary.[440] The bride’s parents were paid a sum of wampum or other goods to compensate for the loss of their daughter, and the union was solemnized by the sachem.[441] A man might get help from his relatives to pay the bride-price.[442]
If a woman felt that she was being ill-treated or became displeased with her husband for some other reason she would leave him.[443] One way was to run away and join whatever tribe her husband’s group happened to be warring with at the time.[444] When a man wished to be rid of his wife, he sent her away from him. Adultery was one reason for divorcing a wife.[445] A woman with the reputation of an adulteress might not be able to find another man who would marry her; such women sometimes became prostitutes.[446]
Wampanoags were polygynous. When a man took additional wives, one, usually the first, remained as the chief or principal wife with some degree of authority over the other wives.[447] In actual practice, not many men had more than one wife at a time. Sachems, powerful powows, and men of rank and wealth might have additional wives; apparently not all of these chose to do so.[448]
There were two reasons given for having multiple wives. First, an additional worker made a more productive household.[449] Second, a man might take an additional wife after the birth of a child; sexual relations between husband and wife were prohibited until the infant was weaned, which might be a period of more than a year.[450]
It was not common for anyone to live alone. Single persons lived with their families, and widows, widowers, or divorced persons usually also lived with relatives until another marriage was made.[451]